Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Sunday’s graduation reception on the Seattle waterfront was ending, but WSU Global Campus students didn’t want to leave.
They posed for photos. They talked with excited family members. They gathered crimson and gray balloons as mementos. They gleefully thought about all the free time they would have.
It had been an afternoon full of warmth and community as graduates and families celebrated both their own achievements and the success of their classmates. And, when the speeches were over, everyone gave everyone else a standing ovation.
Congratulations to all our graduates -- and congratulations to our current students for their resolve as they complete their educations and advance their lives.
For photos from the Seattle event, as well as the Pullman graduation reception a week earlier, please go to our Facebook page.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

A three-minute video featuring Global Campus students has been accepted by the Pac-12 TV Networks.
“The Difference Between Winning and Losing” is the first from Washington State University to go into rotation this academic year, said Bob Keyser, Pac-12 vice president of partner services. It will run in the next few weeks, he said.
The video is one of several that WSU is creating for the network’s Campus Content program, which gives universities free air time.
“A big part of why this network exists is to provide exposure for our 12 universities,” Keyser said. “The goal is to have each university produce one feature a month.”
All three of the featured students are connected to the sports world: One is a Seattle TV producer who works with the Seahawks, one is a WSU basketball player, and one is a Portland Trail Blazers employee.
The video was created by Brian K. Mäki, Global Campus media production manager, and Richard H. Miller, senior marketing communications coordinator.
“We were the entire production crew,” Maki said. “Along with five cameras and innumerable espresso shots.”

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Environmental Assessment (ENVR_SCI 444) examines the National Environmental Policy Act, preparation of environmental impact statements, and federal laws, such as the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act. (Four credits)

Topics in Natural Resource Sciences (NATRS 419) is a one-credit seminar on “Planning for Resilient, Sustainable Cities.” The seminar explores urban ecology and sustainable urban development. This course requires weekly readings, a two-hour face-to-face meeting in Tacoma, Wash., on March 8, and a subsequent term paper. Regular registration deadlines apply.

All the courses are taught by Dr. Kara Whitman, who did her doctoral work on sustainability assessment in watershed regions. “Sustainability in communities is a specific interest of mine,” she said. “Addressing climate change through mitigation and adaptation are a part of building sustainable and resilient communities.”

If you’re interested in a course, it’s always a good idea to discuss with your Global Campus academic consultant how it would fulfill your academic goals.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Topics range from atoms to artwork, from Newton’s laws to nuclear power, said Professor Richard Kouzes. “Each week I pose a set of discussion questions, but I say you can talk about anything else,” he said. “A number of students did their own research – searching out information on recycling fluorescent lights, for example.”

When those discussions become digressions, Kouzes intervenes just enough to make sure students have the facts straight. “I’d like to argue with them sometimes, but my role isn’t to get into opinions.”

But students say that while Kouzes doesn’t pontificate, he often instigates.

More...“Kouzes brings up these really controversial topics,” said Ami Brodak. “Evolution, population control, how the U.S. uses energy: all of these have incited strong opinions, at least for me.”

Kouzes may be a provocateur, Brodak said, but he’s a respectful one. “He never clobbered us for having a differing viewpoint from what he’s teaching,” she said. “That stimulated a free flow of ideas. I feel like I’ve learned from other viewpoints, and also been able to shed some light on topics.”

The course, formerly Physics 380, has no science prerequisites, which makes it well suited for non-science majors who need science credits, said Global Campus Academic Consultant Joy Thompson. “For students under the old GER requirements, it fulfills the Physical Science or [P] requirement,” she said. “For those under UCORE, it fulfills a capstone requirement [CAPS].”

“It’s been incredibly enlightening, especially for someone who was very intimidated by the sciences,” said Brodak, a history major.

By the end of the course, Brodak was no longer intimidated by sciences – or by the professor.

“I often disagreed with his contentions,” she said, “yet I totally loved the class. I learned more than I think I ever have in any other class on such a broad range of topics.”

Kouzes earned his master’s and doctorate in physics from Princeton University. He is a laboratory fellow at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, and works in the areas of neutrino science, homeland security, radioactive material interdiction, non-proliferation, and computational applications. He lives in Richland and teaches at the Tri-Cities campus.

Monday, October 21, 2013

WSU Global Campus' online sport management master's has been ranked third in the nation. "Washington State University walks the talk of dedication to success," says TheBestSchools.org in its award listing.In other award news, WSU's Global Campus has been ranked ninth Best Public Online College by affordablecollegesonline.org. (To find the award text, select the link and scroll down to the listings.)

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Washington State University’s Global Campus has won the Ralph E. Gomory Award for Quality Online Education from the Sloan Consortium.

The award honors the Global Campus for its commitment to assessing and improving the quality of its online education programs through quantitative application of five quality pillars: Access, learning effectiveness, cost effectiveness, student satisfaction and faculty satisfaction.

WSU’s online degree program has also won 10 awards from the University Continuing Education Association and five from the National University Telecommunication Network. In 2009, it was honored with the NUTN Institution Achievement award.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

The Global Campus’ bachelor’s degree in psychology has been ranked third in the nation by TheBestSchools.org. The organization cited the WSU Department of Psychology’s accreditation, the Global Campus’ use of academic consultants to guide students, and the online program’s student government, which offers face-to-face student events.

Best Schools also mentioned WSU’s consistent ranking in the top tier of public schools both nationwide and across the globe. “The Times Higher Ed report named the institution as one of the best in the world,” the group said.

The honor follows several other recent national rankings for the Global Campus:

Friday, August 30, 2013

Katey Koehn wants to scream her head off. She wants to paste stickers on her face. She wants to shout herself hoarse.

Sure, she could do that at home—it’s not for us to judge—but it’s a lot more fun among fellow Washington State University fans.

If you’ve watched WSU play Stanford or Berkeley, you may have seen Katey belting out the Cougar fight song in the stands; she’s at every football game near her Morgan Hill, Calif., home. The Global Campus student made her first visit to Pullman for the nerve-wracking 2012 Apple Cup—“a glorious memory that will never leave me.” And she waved the WSU flag for ESPN’s College GameDay:

“I got up at 4 in the morning and drove to Palo Alto,” she says. “I waved the red one and ran over to the other side and waved the white one.”

Another crazy college kid, right? Not even close. Katey is in her 40s. She was a manager at eBay, and is now an executive at Yahoo. She has a 3.93 GPA, and has been on the President’s Honor Roll for seven straight semesters. And she didn’t choose WSU’s Global Campus only because she looks good in crimson. She wanted a respected diploma, and she listened to a wise friend.

More...
“I had a mentor who said you should look for an online university with a real campus, real community involvement, a real sense of purpose, a vision, and a mission.”

Katey enrolled in 2010. Her major is social sciences with concentrations in anthropology and history.

“As these last three years have gone by, my enthusiasm has grown as I interact with other Cougs,” she says. “There’s a camaraderie here that doesn’t exist anywhere else. Being part of this community is phenomenal.”

Sports are a big part of that community (“It’s a way to be with your people,” she says). So is her involvement in the Northern California Alumni Association, and with Global Campus social events, such as the recent Tacoma Rendezvous. But the frosting on Katey’s cake is made of cheese.

“When I came for the Apple Cup, I drove around Pullman with this wonderment, this excitement,” she says. “I felt like a kid again. Then I discovered Cougar Gold cheese. Oh my gosh. All these years, how did I not know about the cheese? It’s amazing.”

Katey has done her best to re-create the Pullman magic at home. “I have a Cougar shrine in my office,” she says. “I have the fight song printed out—I walk around work singing it—and I have the pompons, a mug, pennant and pins. I feel like I’m in my virtual Pullman.”

At the Tacoma gathering, she snagged more memorabilia: pens, a globe, paw-shaped clips, note pads, carabineer, T-shirt—“I will pick up anything with a cougar head on it and slap it on my body,” she says. But, after the last door-prize number was called, Katey, like all sports fans, found the pursuit of glory always brings the chance of disappointment.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Nearly 600 WSU Global Campus online students and family members will gather at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. this Saturday. But the most animalistic WSU representative has been told to stay out.

Is it because WSU mascot Butch T. Cougar is too boisterous? Because he’d scarf up all the food? Because other critters would envy his dance moves?

In other words, Butch would have the same effect he has on opposing football teams. But not to worry. Even without the furry feline, the Global Campus students will have lots to do. They’ll see the 92-acre collection of animal exhibits—including the week-old giraffe and 5-month-old jaguar triplets—eat a free lunch, and meet their online classmates in person.

More...Global Campus in-person events usually draw no more than 200 people, said John Larson, a senator with the online student government. This inaugural zoo event, called “Rendezoo,” topped everyone’s estimates with more than 580 sign-ups.

“We were blown away by the response,” Larson said. “It’s going to be great seeing Woodland Park Zoo full of crimson and gray.”

The high turnout required the Global Campus to move the event from the zoo’s Family Farm to the vast North Meadow.

“Fortunately the zoo has lots of options for private events,” said ASWSU-Global advisor Erica Vieira. “The zoo staff has been a huge help. And the event coordinator I’m working with is a WSU Global Campus graduate.”

“We always enjoy seeing students get their first taste of the Coug Nation,” said Debbie O’Donnell, Global Campus director of marketing and student services. “But for them this is just the beginning. They’ll have that sense of Cougar pride all their lives.”

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

EconS 321, Economics of Sports in America, examines such topics as salaries, sponsorships and ticket sales, said instructor Jadrian Wooten, above. “Students will learn how the laws of supply and demand have changed sports,” he said, “and how to make sports management decisions based on economic principles.”

Although it’s a 300-level course, he said, the only prerequisite is EconS 101, making it accessible to students in a wide variety of fields.

“It’s a very loose definition,” he allows. “But people know it when they hear it.”

Recognition is good, but understanding is better. That’s why hundreds of WSU Pullman students have enrolled in Music 262, Rock Music: History and Social Analysis. Both sections of the fall 2013 course in Pullman are already full, and each has a capacity of 250.

“Students sometimes say it’s their favorite class,” Ward says, “because they can listen to music they enjoy.”

This fall, Ward will launch an online version of the three-credit course for WSU’s Global Campus. Students start with the 1920s and end with the introduction of MTV. Coursework includes listening to music, watching videos, writing papers, analyzing recordings and taking “listening exams.” For example, Ward will play a rockabilly song, and ask students to identify a common characteristic of the genre. (No drums.)

Ward brings a world of knowledge to Music 262. He’s widely known as a jazz pianist, but has also played with symphonies and gospel groups, world-beat pioneer Obo Addy and Cuban conga player Bobby Torres. He’s an arranger for Grammy-winning singer and jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding and has toured with Portland blues legend Curtis Salgado. One reviewer described his album “Wonderbread” as a mix of “jazz, funk, R&B, soul and Afro-Cuban flavors, all slathered in a gospel gravy.”

Students more willing to solo

As a musician, and as a faculty member, Ward is accustomed to a live audience. But the online audience at the Global Campus also has advantages.

Online students feel freer to share opinions and ideas, he says, because they don’t suffer from the stage fright of having to speak in front of peers. “Online discussion boards are terrific—they really help each other figure things out.”

Maybe, as a group, his students will come up with a better definition of rock music. But Ward says that would be—in several ways—academic.

“In music history, we’re always looking back, trying to define things,” he says “But at the time, musicians just play what they want to play. They don’t care what it’s called.”

Monday, May 20, 2013

“I like putting new tools on my tool belt,” says Eric Abbott, who earned his online graduate degree from Washington State University this spring. "The more tools you have, the better chance you will have to solve a particular problem - and the ETM program has definitely given me a lot of new tools.”

Thursday, May 9, 2013

"Serving veterans and military personnel by providing access to our online programs -- the highest ranked in the country-- is a privilege and one of the many ways we fulfill our land grant mission,” said Eric R. Spangenberg, College of Business dean.

The rankings measure how effectively programs specifically benefit people with military experience in terms of affordability, accessibility and reputation.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Global Campus student and incoming ASWSU-Online president Brianna Lisenbee has received Washington State University’s 2013 President’s Award for Leadership.

The award honors student leaders and those who have helped them. The criteria include a letter of recommendation, record of activities, and three essay questions.

Lisenbee said the award was a “great honor,” but—in true leader fashion—quickly turned the focus to how her prize could help other students:

“This proves to online students that you can do more than just sit behind a computer and take a class,” she said. “You can put yourself out there and make connections with peers, mentors, and faculty at WSU.”

More... The award is given annually to 30-40 individual students, as well as groups, community organizations, and faculty. Recipients will be honored at 5 p.m. April 18 in the Compton Union Senior Ballroom. The program will include the inauguration of the 2013-14 ASWSU and GPSA officers, a Gallery of Leadership, and a talk by Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman and WSU President Elson S. Floyd.

Lisenbee will come from Sumner, Wash., to attend the event—not so much for herself, but so she can lead by example.

“I want people to see that anything is possible as an online student,” she said, “and by attending I am showing others just that.”

Monday, March 25, 2013

Great turnout for the 2013 Tacoma Rendezvous! Thanks to everyone who came, dined, talked to classmates, helped the food bank, took academic seminars, heard about prestigious scholarships and clowned around with Butch.

Many people said that they attended because they want more than academics out of their college experience. They want camaraderie, school spirit, and, in general, to be a part of the Coug Nation.

They want more out of college—and out of life—so it’s no surprise they’re Global Campus students.

Our next event is graduation: Two commencement parties, one in Seattle and one in Pullman. Please consider attending if you’re a spring graduate.

By the way, if you're looking for the photobooth pictures, we're going through them now and will post them on Facebook in a day or two.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Two Global Campus students have become the first to have research accepted into the university’s Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities.
The showcase, known as SURCA, highlights students’ work in all majors. Their research will be displayed in the WSU Pullman CUB on March 29, and awards given to winners in nine categories.
Erica Seversen, whose paper was also accepted into WSU’s Academic Showcase, explored how Chinese women in the imperial court gained power by arranging for young or weak males to be named their heirs, then ruled by proxy in their name.
She credited her professor, Lydia Gerber, for her help and encouragement.
More... “Her Chinese Civilization class was by far the best course I have taken at WSU and the reason is the time she puts into the lessons and her interaction with the students,” said Seversen, of Ballard, Wash.
“This is, in my mind, a testament to Erica’s personal strengths as well as evidence of the educational framework provided by WSU Online,” Gerber said. “To my delight, during an in-class research paper conference, Erica’s paper was also ranked as the strongest scholarly contribution in the entire class.”
Andrew Zander of Silverdale, Wash., researched the role of self-efficacy in online learning, exploring how social cognitive theory can be used to improve online courses and better equip students for success.
“With this being my last semester before graduating, I’m very proud to have my work included in such a great program,” Zander said. “The mere acceptance into SURCA makes me feel as though I'm able to go out with a bang.”
Seversen is coming to Pullman to present, but Zander is able to present from his home. Global Campus project specialist Charlie Snyder will set up Zander’s poster and place a computer next to it so judges can ask questions and get live-streamed answers.
“It’s really amazing that I’m able to participate in such an interactive way!” Zander said.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Washington State University has decided to offer an in-state tuition rate to Global Campus online students, regardless of their location.

“This positions us well in an ever increasing and competitive global market,” said David Cillay, vice president of the Global Campus. “Last Friday’s decision is another important step in WSU’s long efforts to bring education beyond geographical boundaries.”

Global Campus non-resident tuition is currently 28 percent higher than resident tuition. The change is expected to take effect for Fall 2013 and is for both undergraduate and graduate students, although it doesn’t apply to either WSU’s online MBA or EMBA.

Global Campus resident tuition rates will remain identical to WSU system-wide tuition as will rates for non-resident students enrolled at a physical WSU campus who take Global Campus courses.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

"This ranking affirms the very high quality of Washington State University programs as well as the increasing viability and demand for online education,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd. "The College of Business working with the WSU Global Campus - our fifth campus - already is making great progress in spreading the wide-ranging educational resources of our university to students throughout the world.”

Thursday, January 10, 2013

She takes a license plate frame off the rack. “Cougars,” it says. She puts it back. Then she finds the one she wants—the one she has wanted since 2009. The word is deeply engraved: “Alumni.” Kara Kadow, 33, adds the frame to a teetering armful of merchandise: WSU T-shirts, cap, calendar, banner, coffee mug. She flashes what her mother calls her “cheerleader smile,” a bright reminder of her high-school days. She remembers she can get a discount with her new alumni card. She pulls it out of her purse, presents it to the Bookie cashier, and now it’s true, now it’s official. She’s a card-carrying member of the Cougar Nation. It’s Kara’s first visit to the Pullman campus. The WSU Online student has brought her entire family from Yorba Linda, Calif., to watch her graduate the next day with her social sciences degree. “A lot of people were surprised I was coming,” Kara says. “But I didn’t want to do this by mail. I wanted to be here.”

Feeling the spirit Kara’s school spirit goes back to her pompon days. It’s why she wears Cougar clothes to her job as a conference manager, and why she decorates her cubicle in WSU merchandise. It’s a big reason why she chose WSU when she decided to return to college after a nine-year break for marriage and work. “I was looking for that sense of connection,” she says. “I wanted a school I’d be proud to be part of. And I wanted to know that I’d be an alumni of a really great school.” More... She searched the Internet. WSU Online’s website “reached out and grabbed me,” she says. “There was a school spirit that I could feel online.” There was also the tug of ancestry. Her great-grandfather homesteaded along the Columbia River. Her grandfather Richard E. Kadow was a pioneer in artificial insemination of cattle. Her great-uncle Earl Kadow was a longtime farmer, and president of the Clark County Fair, where he has a display named in his honor. Another relative Beulah “Boots” Kadow ran the coffee truck at the Port of Vancouver for nearly 20 years. And her cousins own Kadow Marina in Vancouver, where a scene from Twilight was filmed.

‘This is my village’ “I decided to give the program a try for a year, and ended up staying for all three,” Kara says. The school pride was “infectious,” the online classroom was stimulating—“I felt like I had more learning tools than if I had been in a classroom with a book”—and her family’s support was unwavering. “It takes a village,” she says. “This is my village.” She gestures at her entourage: Mother, father, son, sister, niece, and boyfriend. Her village provided child care and proof-reading and lots of encouragement. “My bucket list is that both my daughters get their degrees,” says her father, Mike Kadow. “That’s how our family was raised. Education is the most important thing you can do.” Her 4-year-old son, Alex, also helped her stay motivated. “When he’s 18, I want to be able to say that Mom has a degree so he should continue his education,” she says. “I don’t necessarily want to throw it in his face—‘I was a single mom and I worked full time and walked up the hill in snow’—but I want to show him that I did it.”

Ants can be a hazard Snow would be a hard sell in Yorba Linda but Alex has already been exposed to other rigors of higher education. “We went up to the volcanic area for Geology 210,” Kara says. “Alex was bitten by red ants, so now he’s traumatized.” Luckily, Kara had her “mommy spray” (ant spray) handy, and Alex’s trauma seems to have eased as he plays with his 5-year-old cousin, Bella, among the racks of Cougar clothing. After the Bookie, Kara and her family will tour campus, and attend an evening reception for WSU Online graduates in Lewis Alumni Centre. But there’s still one thing she needs to purchase, something she can’t get at the Bookie. “I want to buy one of those very expensive frames for my diploma,” she says. “I want to display it proudly.”

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Students in the new WSU Online course Music 160 have a full accompaniment of instructors. Along with Professor Keri McCarthy—an internationally known oboist, master-class teacher and Fulbright scholar—they are getting front-row seats to video performances by WSU faculty, including those in the Opera Workshop, Percussion Ensemble and faculty artist series.

“I think we have recorded faculty or students from every area, and these include jazz, traditional instrumental works, percussion ensemble and opera scenes—which are quite theatrical,” McCarthy said.

Music 160, Survey of Music Literature, covers the six major style periods of Western music: Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th Century. Students will develop their listening skills, and learn how established music theory applies to contemporary music, McCarthy said.

Meets UCORE requirements.

“Anyone open to learning about the history of Western music should really enjoy the course,” McCarthy said. “And it meets UCORE requirements for arts credits.”

This is McCarthy’s first online course. “My music colleagues speak highly of the format,” she said. “Students seem to be much more comfortable expressing their views online, as opposed to opening up about their musical likes and dislikes in a face-to-face classroom.”

More...Along with faculty performances, the course will use VoiceThread, a program that combines multimedia with collaborative functions. “Students will introduce themselves using the video software,” she said, “and describe their favorite popular music.”

McCarthy earned her bachelor’s in oboe performance from Ithaca College School of Music, her master’s from Yale School of music, and her doctorate from Indiana University School of Music.

Fulbright fellowship

Since coming to WSU in 2006, she has toured Asia twice—in 2008 on a WSU New Faculty Seed Grant, and in 2011 on a Fulbright fellowship, giving nearly 30 performances in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Korea. She now lives in Pullman, with her husband, Andy, and two boys, ages 3 and 9 months.

McCarthy said her love of the oboe began early. “The oboe has called my name since I first heard it in the beginning of middle school. I believe each person has a very personal musical ‘voice’ and I knew that this was my passion when I first heard it being played.”

But, she said, her musical journey will never end.

“I will never reach any final satisfaction with my playing—complete mastery is impossible and the goals just keep shifting as I work to improve my playing,” she said. “I love that about music: There will always be more repertoire, a more refined sound, or more technical passages to work toward.”

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